


Hearts Will Be Glowing

by MelissaWritesStuff



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Minor Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 14:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6379159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelissaWritesStuff/pseuds/MelissaWritesStuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tetsurou hesitated a moment, glancing over at the mistletoe. He absolutely refused to let himself hope, but he couldn’t help but imagine for just a second what it would be like if he and Kei <em>did</em> kiss at this party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hearts Will Be Glowing

**Author's Note:**

> yes i know its almost april ok

“The place looks great, dude,” Tetsurou said with a nod as Bokuto finished up the apartment tour he was giving him. Tetsurou had been to his and Akaashi’s place a few time since they’d moved in together two months ago, but now Bokuto had to show off all of the Christmas decorations he and (mostly) Akaashi had hung up for the party that was due to begin in an hour or so. They’d quite literally decked the halls with boughs of holly, and had covered every surface in garlands, strings of lights, and fake snow (which had been Bokuto’s idea, and was probably going to be a bitch to vacuum up later). “Very Christmas-y. Ten out of ten.”

Bokuto just grinned. “I haven’t even shown you the best part.”

Tetsurou raised an eyebrow. He’d assumed that they were looking at the best part now: the big tree in the living room. There wasn’t a single branch that wasn’t loaded up with ornaments, lights, or strings of popcorn, and it had been clearly decorated with care. Tetsurou wasn’t sure what was supposed to top that. “What’s the best part?”

Bokuto threw an arm around Tetsurou’s shoulders and whirled him around to face the kitchen, where someone (probably Bokuto) had hung a neat sprig of mistletoe in the doorway between the two rooms.

Tetsurou felt very underwhelmed. “Ah. Mistletoe.”

Bokuto’s arm slid off of Tetsurou as he slumped his shoulders in disappointment. “Aw, I thought you’d be more excited!”

Tetsurou snorted. “Maybe I would be if I actually had someone to kiss under it.”

“You _do_ have someone to kiss under it,” Bokuto reminded him with another grin, and Tetsurou finally understood what he was getting at.

“Nice try, Bokuto, but it’s not gonna happen,” Tetsurou said, rolling his eyes and turning back to the tree.

“Why not?!” Bokuto whined.

“I need more time!” Tetsurou said with a light laugh, turning around a Santa ornament that was hanging off a branch backwards. “I don’t know, I can just tell Tsukki doesn’t like me that way. Yet. _Hopefully_.”

Bokuto just sighed. “Okay, first of all, he totally does.”

“Does not.”

“Does too!” Bokuto insisted. “And everyone else thinks so, too!”

“‘Everyone’?” Tetsurou repeated skeptically.

“Okay, Akaashi thinks so, too.”

Tetsurou just shook his head. “Nah. I’m telling you, it’s too soon to make a move.”

“But you don’t have to make a move!” Bokuto argued. “The mistletoe does it _for_ you!”

“Bokuto, I’m not gonna try and trick him to end up under the mistletoe just so I can go, ‘Oh, whoops, would you look at that, well, I guess that’s fate for you, let’s kiss.’”

“Whatever,” Bokuto said, shaking his head. “Second of all, how much time do you _need_? It’s been what, a _year_ since you started liking Tsukki?”

Truth be told, it had only been a year since Tetsurou _admitted_ to liking Tsukki, and had actually liked him much, _much_ longer, but... close enough. “Yeah.”

“A year is enough time!” Bokuto told him. “If he’s not gonna warm up to you after a year, I don’t think he ever will.”

“Thanks,” Tetsurou deadpanned.

Bokuto jabbed Tetsurou’s side with his elbow. “Don’t act like I’m crushing your dreams! I already told you he likes you!”

Tetsurou just sighed. “Is there are a third part to all of this?”

“It’s Christmas?” Bokuto suggested with a shrug. “If nothing else, it’ll just be Christmas miracle.”

“It’s not gonna happen tonight, Bokuto,” Tetsurou mumbled.

“Not with that attitude!”

Before Tetsurou could tell Bokuto to give it a rest, there was a knock at the door, and Bokuto quickly went to answer it, and with him occupied, Tetsurou turned and looked back at the sprig of mistletoe.

He _wanted_ to be optimistic about the idea, he really did. He wanted to let himself hope that tonight would be the night, that a little eggnog or mulled wine would be enough to set the mood, that there would be some magical moment where Tetsurou was headed into the living room and Kei was headed toward the kitchen and they’d bump into each other with the mistletoe right above their heads. He wanted to believe that if that happened, Kei would want to kiss him, and that he wouldn’t laugh it off and walk away, or outright reject him, or worse, just miserably accept it like it was the worst thing that could possibly happen. But Tetsurou knew that, if he didn’t want to be hopelessly disappointed later, he was going to have to be realistic. None of that was going to happen tonight. At his luckiest, Tetsurou was going to get a hug goodbye at the end of the party, or some light, teasing banter after prompting Kei to guess what he’d bought him for Christmas. Flirting could happen, but kissing? Not even a Christmas miracle could get Tetsurou a kiss with-

“Tsukki!” Bokuto called out cheerfully once he got the door open. Tetsurou’s heart stopped for a moment.

“Hey, Bokuto,” Kei said as he stepped inside, letting out a deep breath. “Damn, it’s cold outside...”

Tetsurou hurried from the living room to the entryway. “Tsukki?”

Kei looked up from where he was unzipping his coat to hand it over to Bokuto. “Oh, Kuroo,” he said with a soft smile. “I didn’t know you’d be here early, too.”

Tetsurou’s heart fluttered just looking at Kei, in a snuggly, oversized sweater and dark, fitted jeans that made his legs look _too_ good. “I’m just here to help Akaashi in the kitchen,” Tetsurou told him. “But I didn’t know you’d be here, either - what’re you in for?”

Kei just shrugged. “I don’t have a job, Bokuto just told me I should come early.”

“Oh. You’re here for your pleasant company and I’m here to be put to work. I see how it is,” Tetsurou teased.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Kei said with a smile as he slipped off his shoes.

Tetsurou just chuckled to himself instead of pursuing the topic any further, because he saw _exactly_ how it was. He didn’t need to look at Bokuto’s mischievous expression or ask Akaashi any questions to know exactly what had happened: Akaashi had invited Tetsurou over early to help him cook, and when Bokuto found out, he invited Kei to come so they could get some extra time together before all the other guests arrived. And Kei was none the wiser.

“Hey, Kuroo!” Akaashi called as he came down the hall from his and Bokuto’s bedroom. He was trying to put in his other earring as he asked, “You ready?”

Tetsurou gave a quick, two-fingered salute. “Whenever you are.”

Akaashi nodded before turning to Kei. “Hey, Tsukishima. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too,” Kei said politely in return.

After a moment longer, Akaashi gave up on his earring, muttering a curse under his breath.

“Wait, let me help,” Bokuto said quickly, stepping forward and taking the earring from Akaashi’s open palm.

Akaashi smiled softly and held still as Bokuto sorted out his earring for him. “Thanks, Koutarou.”

Once Bokuto finished, he pressed a kiss to Akaashi’s cheek. “Of course.”

“You two are nauseating,” Kei said, rolling his eyes as he moved past them all to walk into the living room.

Bokuto just wrapped his arms around Akaashi’s waist and loudly kissed his cheek again before calling after Kei, “You know you’re just jealous, Tsukki!”

“Yeah, sure, I’m insanely jealous,” Kei said sarcastically. “Can someone get me a drink or do I have to watch your PDA sober?”

“I got you covered,” Tetsurou piped up, following Kei out of the entryway, through the living room, and into the kitchen (very purposefully ignoring the mistletoe above their heads as they entered). “I think I know where everything is, what’s your poison?”

“I’ll just stick to red wine tonight,” Kei said, leaning back against the counter as Tetsurou went searching through Bokuto and Akaashi’s cupboards for wine glasses.

“Excellent choice,” Tetsurou said with a nod of approval. Once he found a pair of wine glasses, he went on the hunt for an actual bottle of wine and a corkscrew. As he searched, he kept the conversation up. “How’s your day been going?”

“It’s been good. I went shopping with Yamaguchi earlier and I finally bought your Christmas present.”

Tetsurou looked up from his search and raised his eyebrows. “You bought me something?”

Kei just grinned. “It’s so good, too.”

Tetsurou sighed as he went back to looking. “Now I wanna know what it is.”

“I’m not giving you any hints,” Kei told him as Tetsurou found a bottle of wine. “You’ll just have to wait until Christmas morning and text me the _second_ you open it, okay?”

Tetsurou found a corkscrew and smiled as he started getting the bottle open. “I’ll do you one better and call you,” he said with a chuckle.

“Good,” Kei said approvingly. “What’d you get me?”

“I don’t get any hints and you do?”

“Mmhmm.”

Tetsurou just shook his head. “Nope. It’s gonna take a few glasses of wine before I tell you anything.”

“Well, hurry up, then.”

The cork came out of the wine with a satisfying _pop_ , and Tetsurou poured each of them a glass.

“Thank you,” Kei said as he accepted his glass from Tetsurou.

Tetsurou raised his own glass. “A toast.”

“To what?”

Tetsurou gave it a moment of thought before suggesting, “To us. For not being nearly as nauseating as Bokuto and Akaashi.”

“I like that,” Kei said with a laugh, clinking his glass against Tetsurou’s. “To us.”

_Us._

Kei went ahead and took a sip of his wine, but Tetsurou hesitated a moment, glancing over at the mistletoe. He absolutely refused to let himself hope, but he couldn’t help but imagine for just a second what it would be like if he and Kei _did_ kiss at this party.

He looked back at Kei and felt the sudden urge to forget the mistletoe and kiss him right now in the kitchen, but he quickly forced the thought out of his head and started in on his own glass of wine.

 _It’s not gonna happen_ , Tetsurou told himself firmly. _It is not gonna happen tonight, Tetsurou._

“Hey, Kuroo.”

Tetsurou made eye contact with Kei, and his stomach fluttered at the soft expression on Kei’s face as he watched him. “Yeah?”

Kei was quiet for a moment before saying, “Thanks for the wine,” and sipping at his glass again.

Tetsurou got the feeling that that wasn’t actually what Kei had wanted to say, but he ignored it and just smiled. “Anytime.”

~

Even if he wasn’t getting any opportunities to kiss Kei, Tetsurou was having a nice time at the party. It had been fun cooking with Akaashi beforehand, with Bokuto and (mostly) Kei giving them an extra hand when needed. When guests started arriving, Christmas music was put on, and Tetsurou was truly starting to feel in the Christmas spirit for the first time all December. He was able to catch up with good friends he hadn’t seen in ages while surrounded by lights and decorations and music and friends; it was hard _not_ to feel in the Christmas spirit.

And he had _so_ many opportunities to talk to Kei that night. They bickered over whether it was better to wrap gifts in bags or paper, and they laughed their asses off when a slightly tipsy Bokuto was pushed and nearly took out the Christmas tree as he fell to the floor, and Tetsurou made promises to invite Kei over to his place so Tetsurou could teach him some cooking. Tetsurou actually ended up spending _most_ of the party talking to Kei, and it took little to no effort on his part to keep the conversation going. As usual, talking to Kei was just easy. Occasionally, they would separate and make rounds talking to other people, but they always ended up back together in the end.

Tetsurou couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed himself so much at a party.

Somewhere down the line, after Kei and Tetsurou had reminisced about the past year and discussed a few resolutions for the next one, Kei excused himself to head to the kitchen for another refill on his glass of wine, and Tetsurou took the opportunity to clear his head, because he was starting to have thoughts about kissing Kei again.

 _You are not going to kiss Kei at this party_ , Tetsurou reminded himself, taking a deep breath. _It’s too soon._

But... _was_ it? As the party went on, Tetsurou was starting to think Bokuto had had a point. Maybe Kei _did_ like him. Maybe there was a reason Kei was sticking to his side all night. Maybe there was a reason Kei seemed to be in an especially good mood, laughing a little louder and a little longer and a little more often. Maybe there was a reason Kei had said, “I like that,” when Tetsurou had toasted to the pair of them...

Tetsurou was snapped out of his speculations when Akaashi poked his head out of the kitchen and called, “Hey, Kuroo, can you give me a hand with something?”

Akaashi ducked back in, and Tetsurou quickly headed into the kitchen after him. “What is it you-”

“ _Oops_!” Bokuto shouted a little too loudly (and a little too deliberately) just before Kei was sent stumbling out of the kitchen and straight into Tetsurou’s arms. Tetsurou almost buckled under the sudden weight of Kei leaning against him so heavily, but he managed to catch him and keep both of them steady.

“Shit, Tsukki, are you okay?” Tetsurou asked as he helped Kei straighten up and get his balance back.

“Fine,” Kei said with a sarcastic chuckle as he fixed his glasses where they’d gone askew. “Y’know, aside from being violently shoved out of the kitchen.”

“Jesus, what the hell is Bokuto...” Tetsurou trailed off as it hit him. He was coming in from the living room. Kei was coming out from the kitchen. They were standing in the doorway. Tetsurou looked up and sure enough, the mistletoe was directly above their heads. “...doing...”

 _This isn’t fucking happening. Bokuto did_ not _just do that._

Kei followed Tetsurou’s gaze. “... _Oh_.”

_Bokuto just fucking did that._

Tetsurou looked past Kei to glare into the kitchen. “ _Bokuto_ -”

“Oh, hey!” Bokuto said, his eyes widening in surprise. “Mistletoe! Well, you two know what that means...”

It was lucky Kei was standing in between Tetsurou and Bokuto, or Tetsurou might’ve murdered him right then and there. Instead, Tetsurou just turned back to Kei and assured him, “Ignore him, it doesn’t count if he pushed you, you don’t have to-”

“Kuroo, it’s fine,” Kei said with a chuckle, shaking his head. “It’s just a kiss.”

Tetsurou immediately went from angry to flustered as hell. “Wait, what?”

Kei just shrugged before taking Tetsurou’s face in his hands, leaning in, and pressing the most ridiculously perfect kiss to Tetsurou’s lips, confident but soft, delicate but willing, short but just long enough for Tetsurou to fully let it sink in that Kei was kissing him before Kei pulled away.

Kei cleared his throat. “No big deal,” he said calmly, even as he was turning a little pink.

Tetsurou, on the other hand, felt redder than he’d ever been in his life. Kei had just kissed him. Tsukishima Kei had just _kissed him_. Of his _own accord_. Sure, the mistletoe had played some role in it, but... _holy shit_.

Somewhere in the kitchen, Bokuto wolf-whistled, and Kei finally turned away in embarrassment, but Tetsurou ignored Bokuto and just kept staring at Kei. Kei had kissed him. Kei had _kissed_ him. Like, on the lips and everything.

Kei cleared his throat again. “Um, excuse me, I just need to use the restroom,” he said before quickly slipping away and getting lost in the crowd. Tetsurou just stared numbly after him, because _Kei had kissed him_.

Tetsurou jumped as Bokuto suddenly threw his arm around his shoulders. “ _Weeeell_? Am I the best friend ever or _what_?”

Tetsurou was finally able to tear his eyes away and look at Bokuto. “That... that really just happened?”

“ _Hell yes_ , it did!”

“Congrats, Kuroo,” Akaashi said, shaking his head and smirking to himself. 

Tetsurou finally snapped out of it and narrowed his eyes. “As if you two didn’t plan this whole thing.”

“Hey, we just got you under the mistletoe,” Bokuto pointed out, putting his hands up innocently. “We had _no_ idea Tsukki was going to be _that_ willing to kiss you. Well, except that we totally did because he totally has it bad for you, but y’know.”

Tetsurou just went back to being speechless, staring at the ground and trying to wrap his head around the fact that after over a year of liking Kei, Kei had just kissed him. “Are you sure it was like that?” Tetsurou asked quietly. “Like, what if he was just playing by the rules?”

Bokuto and Akaashi both laughed at him.

“Dude, do you even know Tsukki at all?” Bokuto asked.

“He would _not_ have kissed you like that if he was,” Akaashi assured him. “Think about it: he would’ve been shy and flustered and grumpy about it if he was just doing it out of social obligation.”

“And that’s assuming he would’ve done it at _all_ ,” Bokuto pointed out.

Akaashi nodded. “Fair point. Really, Kuroo, if Tsukki didn’t want to kiss you, he probably wouldn’t have.”

_If Tsukki didn’t want to kiss you he probably wouldn’t have._

But he did. Kei had really, actually kissed him.

Tetsurou was suddenly unable to hold back a smile.

“ _Awww_ ,” Bokuto gushed, giving Tetsurou’s shoulders a squeeze. “Dude, you are so gay for Tsukki, it’s about damn time something happened between you two.”

“Okay, don’t get too far ahead of yourself,” Tetsurou told him, even though he still couldn’t stop smiling. “Just... nothing until Tsukki and I actually talk about it, okay?”

“Whatever you say, man,” Bokuto laughed. “Merry Christmas.”

Before Tetsurou could say anything else, Kei returned from the bathroom and collected the refilled wine glass he’d left behind.

“Oh, Akaashi, before I forget,” Kei said, leaning against the counter and making himself comfortable. “Do you have a recipe for the eclairs you made? They’re _really_ good.”

“It was actually Tetsurou’s recipe,” Akaashi told him.

Kei raised his eyebrows. “Oh, really?” Kei turned to Kuroo, and Kuroo went red all over again. “You’ll have to show me how to make those when you teach me how to cook.”

Tetsurou was still warm and fuzzy and ridiculously giddy on the inside, but he managed to contain himself. “Will do.”

“Cool,” Kei said with a nod before taking a sip of his wine.

Tetsurou just bit his lip to try and hold back his huge grin at least a little. “Cool,” he agreed.

Bokuto let out a cough that sounded an awful lot like, “ _Gay_.”

~~~

After the party, Kei agreed to letting Tetsurou walk him home.

It hadn’t taken much convincing. Even if Kei only lived a few blocks away, it had only taken a few “It’s pretty late”s and “I just want to make sure you get home safe”s for Kei to agree to Tetsurou’s ridiculousness, and so, after thanking Bokuto and Akaashi for the wonderful party and saying their goodbyes, Tetsurou left the party with Kei by his side.

“That was a good party,” Tetsurou said as they set off down the sidewalk, shoving his hands in his pockets against the biting cold air.

“Definitely,” Kei said with a nod. “Probably the best Christmas party I’ve been to in a _long_ time.”

Tetsurou just hummed in agreement, because if he opened his mouth to speak, he felt like he would blurt out something embarrassing, like _I’m happy I got to spend it with you_ or _I really liked the part where you kissed me_.

After that, they walked most of the way in silence, but a contented one. It just felt comfortable and natural to be walking like this together, with no words and just each others’ company. Even without conversation, Tetsurou couldn’t help but be a little disappointed as they rounded the corner and Kei’s building was in sight.

“Hey, Kuroo?” Kei said quietly as they approached his building. The two of them stopped and turned to face each other.

“Mm?”

Kei looked down at his shoes. “I’ve been thinking about it, and... I’m sorry. About earlier.”

Tetsurou just blinked. “About what?”

“Th-the kiss.” Kei winced. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have just _done_ it without actually asking you first.”

“Oh, no, Tsukki, it’s _fine_ ,” Tetsurou assured him. “I mean, like, _yeah_ , asking first is generally good, but in this case, it’s really, really fine.”

Kei lifted his head to look up at Tetsurou, but he wasn’t looking at Tetsurou’s eyes. He was one-hundred-percent looking at Tetsurou’s lips. Tetsurou swallowed.

“I just got caught up in the moment,” Kei murmured. “I just... didn’t want to lose the opportunity, y’know?”

“‘Opportunity’?” Tetsurou repeated.

Kei hesitated before admitting, “Y-yeah. I’ve wanted the chance to kiss you for... a _while_ now...”

Tetsurou’s heart was pounding and his breathing was short and his palms were sweating, but the only thing he could focus on in the world was Kei. “Really?”

Kei finally looked up into Tetsurou’s eyes and gave a half-smile. “Yeah. Really.”

Tetsurou took a fraction of a step closer. “You didn’t have to wait for mistletoe, y’know.”

Kei’s eyes widened for a moment as he realized what Tetsurou was saying, that Tetsurou had wanted to kiss him too, and smiled a little bigger. “I guess not,” he said with a soft laugh. “Mistletoe just made it easier.”

“I wish there was mistletoe above us right now, then.”

Now it was Kei who moved in closer as he looked back and forth between Tetsurou’s eyes and lips. “Maybe we could just pretend.”

Tetsurou slowly and carefully put his hands on Kei’s waist. “Well, would you look at that,” he said quietly. His eyes didn’t leave Kei for a second. “Mistletoe.”

Kei laughed again as he put his hands on Tetsurou’s shoulders and played along. “Guess that means we have to kiss again,” he said, leaning in a little closer.

“Guess so,” Tetsurou practically whispered before leaning in the rest of the way and kissing Kei for a _second_ time.

And this time was _so_ different from the first. The first had been short, sweet, and confident. This kiss was slow, and cautious, and long. This kiss was testing the waters, finding out what it actually felt like when they moved their lips against each others’, going slow and savoring every moment of it. Kei’s lips were so warm and so soft, and they tasted like strawberry chapstick, and after a minute or so, Tetsurou was utterly convinced that their lips were _made_ to fit together. The shyness of it all started to melt away, and Tetsurou pulled Kei’s waist closer, and Kei moved his hands up from Tetsurou’s shoulders to Tetsurou’s neck. It felt so amazing to be holding Kei so close, and it felt even more amazing to have Kei holding him so close in return. But even as they grew more comfortable and held each other just that much closer, the whole thing was still so overwhelmingly gentle and soft in the best possible way. Kei felt like something delicate and precious in his arms, and Kei kissed him like _he_ was something delicate and precious. Even if it was only their second kiss, and they still hadn’t actually properly confessed to liking each other, it honestly felt more loving than any kiss Tetsurou had had in his life.

Still, sooner or later, it had to come to an end, and once Tetsurou felt like he was absolutely drowning in affection, Kei broke off the kiss and rested his forehead against Tetsurou’s. “Kuroo?”

“Yes?” Tetsurou breathed.

“I-in case I haven’t made this clear, I really, really, really like you.”

Tetsurou sighed, never having felt more at peace with the world than he did right now. After practically falling for Kei on sight all those years ago, after befriending him and watching him grow into the person he is now, so much happier than the angsty teenager he was when he and Tetsurou first met, after being convinced for so long that Kei could never like Tetsurou the way he absolutely adored Kei, here it was. Tsukishima Kei liked him. Really, really, really liked him.

“I really like you, too, Tsukki,” Tetsurou finally admitted before he pressed another kiss to Kei’s lips. “Would it be okay if I took you out on a date sometime?”

“If that ‘sometime’ is soon, then yes,” Kei said with a smile in return.

It was a better answer than Tetsurou could’ve hoped for, and Tetsurou was absolutely beside himself with happiness. “I wouldn’t dream of anything else.”

“Well,” Kei said, letting out a deep breath. “Call me, then.”

“I will,” Tetsurou promised with a laugh.

After one last chaste kiss, the two separated, still grinning at each other like idiots.

“Merry Christmas, Kei,” Tetsurou said, shoving his hands back in his pockets.

“Merry Christmas, Tetsurou.”

And with that, Tetsurou turned and took his leave, glowing with happiness and with not a care in the world.

(Except, perhaps, how unbearably smug Bokuto and Akaashi were going to be once they heard that their stupid plan had, indeed, worked out after all.)

**Author's Note:**

> {[click here to reblog from my writing tumblr](http://melissawritesstuff.tumblr.com/post/141811146184/hearts-will-be-glowing)}  
> ★reblogs are much appreciated★


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